Remote iPhone Unlocking Services Discontinued After Supplier Pulls Plug

[MacRumors]

Last week, we reported that a number of remote iPhone unlocking services had sprung up, apparently working through a contact with access to the official Apple database of whitelisted IMEI numbers. The services were generally charging in the $170 range to unlock users' iPhones without requiring jailbreaking.

As noted by Cult of Mac, however, prominent vendor CutYourSim has discontinued the service and is refunding customers whose orders had yet to be processed. Several other vendors who had offered the service (1, 2) have also discontinued their offerings.

What happened? Even a representative of CutYourSim doesn't know.

"Unfortunately, we were not able to complete the rest of the unlocks waiting in our queue due to our suppliers being unable to offer the service anymore," CutYourSim told Cult of Mac. "Our suppliers have told us that there is a possibility that the service may return, but they do not know when, so we have decided to start processing refunds for any orders that we were not able to complete."

Notably, it appears that CutYourSim doesn't even know who its supplier was, bolstering our earlier theory that a single person with access to Apple's systems had shopped the service around to various vendors while taking a significant cut of the service fee and remaining hidden in the background.

In other words, CutYourSim's iPhone unlocking service was as much of a black box to them as it was to customers. They would throw an iPhone into one end, wait for the light to go on, then pull it out, carrier unlocked. No one knew how it worked, but it did.

The problem with black boxes, though, is that when they break, no one knows how to fix them... or even what's wrong with it in the first place.

Cult of Mac postulates that Apple may have cracked down on the issue after noticing the significant influx of IMEI numbers being added to the database. It is unknown, however, whether the discontinuation was due to specific actions on Apple's end to halt the practice or if the provider simply decided to call a halt to it due to concerns potential repercussions or other issues.

Article Link: Remote iPhone Unlocking Services Discontinued After Supplier Pulls Plug

 

[Al Coholic]

Cult of Mac postulates that Apple may have cracked down on the issue after noticing the significant influx of IMEI numbers being added to the database.

Ya think?

LOL!

 

[LondonCentral]

I wonder how much money this individual made.

 

[Adidas Addict]

How much do AT&T charge in the USA to unlock a contracted iPhone? The UK networks range from free to £20 ($34ish).

 

[shareef777]

How much do AT&T charge in the USA to unlock a contracted iPhone? The UK networks range from free to £20 ($34ish).

ATT doesn't even offer an unlock option.

 

[maclaptop]

Apple has perfected the art of threats and intimidation

 

[BruiserB]

How much do AT&T charge in the USA to unlock a contracted iPhone? The UK networks range from free to £20 ($34ish).

Unfortunately at this time it's not possible at any price even when contract is fulfilled.

 

[Adidas Addict]

ATT doesn't even offer an unlock option.

Unfortunately at this time it's not possible at any price even when contract is fulfilled.

Ahh that would explain the amount of people that would pay this ridiculous fee just for an unlock.

*Edit* is that even legal? What use is your iPhone if you end your contract after the term?

 

[HitchHykr]

I wonder how much money this individual made.

My guess is 6 figures. He/she probably charged around $150 given that all the vendors were charing about the same. I hope this person includes this income on their taxes or he's gonna be really screwed.

Apple has perfected the art of threats and intimidation

So should Apple just lay back an let someone update their database without authorization?

 

[BruiserB]

It will be interesting to see if any of those who paid end up with re-locked phones.

 

[Full of Win]

Ahh that would explain the amount of people that would pay this ridiculous fee just for an unlock.

*Edit* is that even legal? What use is your iPhone if you end your contract after the term?

There is nothing illegal about it AFAIK.

 

[JodyK]

Wonder if Apple has anything in their agreements with the carriers that would prevent them from just doing this directly for the customer?

Sell millions of locked iPhones then later sell an unlock for $199 (same as the iPhone itself with an agreement). Apple would put even more money in their war chest!

 

[jc1350]

*Edit* is that even legal? What use is your iPhone if you end your contract after the term?

Sure. The customer knows this before entering into the contract. If you cancel service, you have an overpriced iPod touch.

 

[Adidas Addict]

Sure. The customer knows this before entering into the contract. If you cancel service, you have an overpriced iPod touch.

So is the used market in America pretty much dead for older iPhones? People must have collections of old phones that are no use to man nor beast

 

[marksman]

Or Apple had to do is use one of these services on a single device and they would have known who was doing this processing. After that it would be easy enough to threaten them or just cut off their access.

Not exactly Columbo stuff.

 

[Consultant]

It was cut off by Apple last week, after just a few days.

 

[Jazwire]

Apple has perfected the art of threats and intimidation

Or AT&T.

 

[HitchHykr]

So is the used market in America pretty much dead for older iPhones? People must have collections of old phones that are no use to man nor beast

Phones are locked to the carriers, not the users, i.e. you can sell an AT&T iPhone to other AT&T customer.

 

[maclaptop]

So should Apple just lay back an let someone update their database without authorization?

If you would stay abreast of current events, you would know the Justice Department (DOJ) just ruled that it _is_ legal.

Ignorance does not serve you well.

 

[baryon]

That's what happens if you run an illegal business and advertise it on the web for everyone to see.

 

[utwarreng]

If you would stay abreast of current events, you would know the Justice Department (DOJ) just ruled that it _is_ legal.

Ignorance does not serve you well.

Your own ignorance does not serve YOU well. The DOJ has said you are permitted to jailbreak your device. Through jailbreaking you can perform an unlock. This is perfectly legal.

This method of unlocking we are talking about here is completely different. They have NEVER said that people are permitted to hack into Apple's database in order to update their list of unlocked phones.

Don't berate others unless you actually know what you're talking about. It just makes you look ridiculous.

 

[HitchHykr]

Your own ignorance does not serve YOU well. The DOJ has said you are permitted to jailbreak your device. Through jailbreaking you can perform an unlock. This is perfectly legal.

This method of unlocking we are talking about here is completely different. They have NEVER said that people are permitted to hack into Apple's database in order to update their list of unlocked phones.

Don't berate others unless you actually know what you're talking about. It just makes you look ridiculous.

Thank you!

 

[vincenz]

Quickly, someone shop the idea around to Hollywood. We're sitting on a gold mine here.

 

[Thermonuclear]

No surprise

There's no surprise here; US carriers frown upon anyone rocking their profit yacht. And as Apple is not a carrier, it must kiss the collective tush of the US carrier oligarchy else lose billions of sales of their hipster iToys.

The problem here is that the US carriers have added to the general corruption the US Congress via PAC donations, lobbyist bribery, and other special treatment. The result is that the carriers refuse to offer unbundled products and services and so stifle honest competition.

Can you imagine if a car company X required any user of an Brand X car to buy only Brand X gasoline, to have the car serviced in only Brand X dealerships, to purchase only Brand X parts, and to have their car permanently disabled when the owner grows tired of paying after the car itself is completely paid? Yet the US carriers got away with all of this crap and more.

And that's why I gave up on expensive cell phones and expensive plans long ago. I use a cheap pay-as-you-go no-contract phone and my bill averages under $25 per month. Yes; it takes some discipline. But the personal satisfaction of not fattening the piggish carriers make the effort worth it.

 

[MacMan86]

If you would stay abreast of current events, you would know the Justice Department (DOJ) just ruled that it _is_ legal.

Ignorance does not serve you well.

Presumably you're the kind of person who believes the DOJ ruled that downloading pirate software from the Cydia store is legal too.

Nothing about how these companies/individual on the inside were operating is above board.

You would do well to read what the DOJ ruling actually means, because it's nothing like what you seem to think.

In the meantime, we can all be thankful for the new down-voting system.